Nonlinear Optics

Clear, integrated coverage of all aspects of nonlinearoptics--phenomena, materials, and devices Coauthored by George Stegeman, one of the most highly respectedpioneers of nonlinear optics--with contributions onapplications from Robert Stegeman--this book covers nonlinearoptics from a combined physics, optics, materials science, anddevices perspective. It offers a thoroughly balanced treatment ofconcepts, nonlinear materials, practical aspects of nonlineardevices, and current application areas. Beginning with the presentation of a simple electron on a springmodel--to help readers make the leap from concepts toapplications--Nonlinear Optics gives comprehensiveexplanations of second-order phenomena, derivation of nonlinearsusceptibilities, third-order nonlinear effects, multi-wave mixing,scattering, and more. Coverage includes: * Nonlinear response of materials at the molecular level * Second-order nonlinear devices, their optimization andlimitations * The physical origins of second- and third-ordernonlinearities * Typical frequency dispersion of nonlinearities, explained interms of simple two- and three-level models * Ultrafast and ultrahigh intensity processes * Practice problems demonstrating the design of such nonlineardevices as frequency doublers and optical oscillators Based on more than twenty years of lectures at the College ofOptics and Photonics (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida,Nonlinear Optics introduces all topics from the ground up,making the material easily accessible not only for physicists, butalso for chemists and materials scientists, as well asprofessionals in diverse areas of optics, from laser physics toelectrical engineering.